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Please see response attached, which is presented below. I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

Let's look at some potential information for each section, which you can then draw on for your final copy. I will also list other websites to consider for the summary. The seven points listed in the assignment can act as a tentative outline for both the 2-page commentary and the summary.

Now, let's look at some information for each section for you to consider in your final write-ups.

The Crisis of Suicide

1. Suicide cases are everywhere

For this section, you should include information about the prevalence of suicide, using statistics as evidence, something to the effect...

People have committed suicide from all walks of life since the beginning of known history. http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200603/31981.htmlSuicide is a major, preventable public health problem that has no boundaries. It is everywhere and at every social-economic level of society. In 2004, for example, it was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 32,439 deaths.1 The overall rate was 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people.1 An estimated eight to 25 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death.2 http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/harmsway.cfm

New research indicates that blacks in the U.S. have a lifetime prevalence of attempted suicide of about 4 percent, a rate comparable with the general population, but higher than previous estimates, according to a study in the November 1 issue of JAMA. The estimated lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among blacks in the United States was 4.1 percent; for suicidal thoughts, 11.7 percent. Among those who reported suicidal thoughts, 34.6 percent made a suicide plan and 21 percent made an unplanned attempt. Significant differences were found between men and women, with attempts being more prevalent for women, 4.9 percent, than for men, 3.1 percent. The prevalence of suicide attempts was highest for Caribbean black men (7.5 percent), followed by African American women (5.0 percent). Risk of a suicide attempt and risk of suicidal thoughts were significantly associated with being younger, having a low education level, residing in the Midwest region of the U.S., and having one or more psychiatric disorders. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=55551

For information about suicide in family history see http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/depression/related/suicide_9.asp.

What are the risk factors for suicide?

Research shows that risk factors for suicide include:
· Depression and other mental disorders, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors.2
· Stressful life events, in combination with other risk factors, such as depression. However, suicide and suicidal behavior are not normal responses to stress; many people have these risk factors, but are not suicidal.
· Prior suicide attempt
· Family history of mental disorder or substance abuse
· Family history of suicide
· Family violence, including physical or sexual abuse
· Firearms in the home,3 the method used in more than half of suicides
· Incarceration
· Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others, such as family members, peers, or media figures.2

Research also shows that the risk for suicide is associated with changes in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin have been found in people with depression, impulsive disorders, and a history of suicide attempts, and in the brains of suicide victims. 4 http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/harmsway.cfm

2.Help needs to be ready

A plan needs to be in place. For example, if you think someone is suicidal, do not leave him or her alone. Try to get the person to seek immediate help from his or her doctor or the nearest hospital emergency room, or call 911. Eliminate access to firearms or other potential tools for suicide, including unsupervised access to medications. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/harmsway.cfm

Clinicians also need to be ready to give the right help at the right time: MedicalNewsoday reports: "The results of the study should influence clinicians who screen patients for risk for suicide. For instance, clinicians should focus on modifiable risk factors (e.g., anxiety, depression) and should engage blacks in aggressive treatment in the high-risk period of the first year after ideation onset and continue to observe patients who attempt suicide after making a plan. Clinicians must also consider, when screening blacks, the strong association of [psychiatric] disorders with the risk for suicide attempts, the greater likelihood for young adults to be impulsive, and for older adults to engage in planned suicide attempts. It is also important that black patients at risk for impulsive attempts do not have access to firearms or medications that can be used to attempt suicide." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=55551

What can be done to prevent suicide?

Research helps determine which factors can be modified to help prevent suicide and which interventions are appropriate for specific groups of people. Before being put into practice, prevention programs should be tested through research to determine their safety and effectiveness.8 For example, because research has shown that mental and substance-abuse disorders are major risk factors for suicide, many programs also focus on treating these disorders. Studies showed that a type of psychotherapy called cognitive therapy reduced the rate of repeated suicide attempts by 50 percent during a year of follow-up. A previous suicide attempt is among the strongest predictors of subsequent suicide, and cognitive therapy helps suicide attempters ...

Solution Summary

This solution discusses ideas and notions regarding suicide, e.g. suicide cases are everywhere, help needs to be ready, suicide has occurred throughout time, suicide is selfish, suicide hides behind many faces, myths associated with suicide and how suicide is communicated.